St. Patrick's day brings lots of work for local Irish musicians

“St. Patrick's Day is obviously a big day in the pub scene,” said ColmO'Brien of Holbrook, who hails from Dublin. “There are a lot more gigs available every year during that week – there's work for everybody. It is so busy for Irish musicians that a lot of guys double, or triple-up their gigs.

There are plenty of Irish pubs and restaurants in our area, so it’s not difficult to find tunes from the Auld Sod year-round. But this weekend Irish music will be permeating the club scene and beyond, as the Monday date of St. Patrick’s Day means a whole long weekend celebration of all things green. We caught up with a trio of the region’s most in-demand Celtic musicians to find out how it looks from their perspective.

Holbrook’s Colm O’Brien, is still basking in the afterglow of the rave reviews he got for his second solo album, last year’s “Back to Work?” which featured the same kind of traditional and contemporary blend his live shows do, including some of his own songs. O’Brien first became known to American audiences as a member of the Celtic rockers The Prodigals, went on to be a founding member of the popular trio Rud Eile, and has performed solo for the past four or five years.

Denis O’Gorman of Quincy, on the other hand, has had a four decade career in music, spanning Irish music, rock bands, venues of every size and stripe, shows all over North America and Ireland, and even long stints on cruise ships. His shows tend more toward traditional fare, but also boast the occasional Neil Diamond or Johnny Cash tune. For many years he was half of The Jolly Tinkers duo, and he was also heard singing in the Karl Malden movie “Billy Galvin.”

Wollaston’s Paul Kenny came to the United States in the 1980s, as part of the rock band Feathered Wings. He now splits his time between gigs with his rock band Cherry Orchard, and as one-half of the more traditional duo Patsy & Paul, where he teams with renowned Irish fiddler and mandolinist Patsy Whelan of Sandwich. The twosome play all over New England.

All the performers said their St. Patrick’s Day calendar is full this year, with the long weekend offering plenty of work. They also noted that fans on those days tend to make more traditional requests than normal, but that more contemporary material is also welcomed.

“St. Patrick’s Day is obviously a big day in the pub scene,” said O’Brien, who hails from Dublin (“I’m Irish by birth, a Dublin-ite by the grace of God,” he noted.). “There are a lot more gigs available every year during that week – there’s work for everybody. It is so busy for Irish musicians that a lot of guys double, or triple-up their gigs.

“I used to do that, up until about four or five years ago, when I realized I was absolutely wrecked at the end of the day,” said O’Brien, who plays from noon to 6 p.m. Monday at the Grand Canal in downtown Boston. “By the time you drive to a show, set up, play, break down and head off to the next gig, it takes a toll. But for those who are able to do that, and ambitious enough to book themselves for two or three gigs, it can be a very lucrative day. There’s no other day like it for Irish musicians – not even New Year’s Eve is as good.”

Page 2 of 4 - Kenny’s weekend is full of private gigs with Whelan, before the duo headline Mr. Dooley’s in Boston on Monday.

“It is so busy it can be crazy. I’ve known musicians who’d book 7 a.m. gigs, at Irish breakfast-type things, and keep going all day, as many as five gigs before the night is done. But most places want you to play longer than usual, anyway, so now I much prefer just doing one gig. But there is the potential for a big payday – if you can play guitar, and know a few Irish songs, you can get a gig on St. Patrick’s Day.”

O’Gorman, who hails from Cork, still likes the idea of double-headers, so he and his accompanist, keyboard wizard Martin McPhilemy of Canton, are doing two shows on Monday, performing at Hugh O’Neill’s in Malden from 4 to 7 p.m., before returning to Quincy to headline Paddy Barry’s from 9 p.m. to closing.

“The whole period around St. Patrick’s Day is busy for us, which for me has meant a lot of small stuff this year,” said O’Gorman. “I’ve had many more private type shows, such as your local Kiwanis luncheon, for example, where they’ll have me perform a short set to get everybody in the mood and singing along. These days the club scene seems to be more tightly focused around the actual day of March 17, where in the past we might go through three weeks of St. Patrick’s Day-themed gigs.”

All three singers stick more or less to their usual set lists, but requests this weekend are more common. With O’Brien, his own originals are written in the same style as the traditional Celtic favorites he also plays, so there is plenty of cohesiveness in his sets. O’Gorman tends to play even his rock songs with the kind of stripped down, rootsy arrangements that mark his trad fare. Kenny’s work with Whelan is more trad-focused by design, but they also mix old and new tunes.

Said O’Brien: “They’ll usually ask for ‘Danny Boy,’ ‘The Wild Rover,’ and ‘Whiskey in the Jar,’ and I love to play those anyway, so requests are not a big issue. I play my usual mix of old and new. It just means longer sets and longer shows.”

Page 3 of 4 - Dublin native Kenny said he tends to play songs that are most popular with the American fans.

“A lot of people out on that day are ‘amateurs,’ as far as Irish music goes, so there are a few obvious choices they always want. We play our regular sets, new and old music, and just insert a few of those old favorites and requests. But, we’ll be playing all day long, so you have time to do everything,” he said.

If anything the current pop music trends toward roots music, and the popularity of trad-based bands like Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, and even our own Dropkick Murphys, has only fueled more interest in authentic Irish music. And St. Patrick’s Day is surely the festival for that.

“It’s a great day to be Irish, and to be in America,” said O’Gorman. “As Irishmen we feel so welcome here in America, and on that day you can drive down the street and see Irish flags and shamrocks everywhere. I see it getting bigger and better every year. It’s almost become an official rite of spring, and I take great pleasure in being part of it.”

Kenny agreed: “Everybody thinks they’re Irish on that day.”

O’Brien has seen the celebrations grow, but he’s also seen his own career grow, as his latest album has earned airplay around the country, and his work with his two previous bands has given him fans and contacts beyond Boston. Last weekend O’Brien played a series of gigs in Cleveland, Chicago, and Joliet, Illinois.

“Without a doubt my latest album has helped tremendously in getting me work beyond Boston,” said O’Brien. “But of course my work with The Prodigals got my name out there first, and now all I have to do is remind them I’m still here. The Prodigals had great fans in the Midwest, and so I have really good contacts out there today. I’ve also been working with Flipside Works, a small cooperative of musicians, who’ve been a big help in getting me gigs around the country. Last week was my third or fourth trip out to Cleveland and Chicago in the last year, and my album has been getting lots of airplay out there.”

O’Brien’s schedule this week includes a Friday show at The Greyhound in Worcester, a Saturday night gig at Terry O’Reilly’s in Newton Center, but a day off for family time on Sunday, before he tackles his six-hour marathon Monday at Grand Canal. O’Brien also noted he’ll be back at Paddy Barry’s, where he plays once a month, on March 21.

Page 4 of 4 - “I’m excited about getting out there, further afield,” added O’Brien. “It’s a big country, and I want to play in as many places as I can. But I look at Paddy Barry’s as my home base. That’s where I started out, 12 years ago, and when I play there, it is more of a social evening than work, so I love those nights. “